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El-Kady AM, Elshazly H, Alsulami MN, Albohiri HH, Alshehri EA, Alfaifi MS, Mohamed K, Wakid MH, Gattan HS, Altwaim SA, Al-Megrin WAI, Almalki GH, Abdel-Rahman IAM, Elshabrawy HA, Younis S. Zingiber officinale Ameliorates Acute Toxoplasmosis-Induced Pathology in Mice. Acta Parasitol 2024:10.1007/s11686-024-00884-1. [PMID: 39225734 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-024-00884-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infects one third of the world's population with significant illness, mainly among immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women. Treatment options for toxoplasmosis are limited which signifies the need for novel, potent, and safe therapeutic options. The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale (Z. officinale) in treating mice infected with the RH T. gondii strain. MATERIALS AND METHODS Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify components of ethanolic extract of Z. officinale. A total of 80 mice were randomly allocated into four experimental groups that contained 20 mice each. The first group was left uninfected (uninfected control), while three groups were infected with T. gondii RH virulent strain tachyzoites at 2500 tachyzoites/mouse. One infected group was left untreated (infected, untreated), whereas the other two groups were treated orally with either spiramycin (positive control) or Z. officinale ethanolic extract at doses of 200 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg, respectively for 5 days, starting the day of infection. Ten mice from each group were used to assess mice survival in different groups, whereas the other ten mice in each group were sacrificed on the 5th day post-infectin (dpi) to estimate the treatment efficacy by quantifying liver parasite load, liver function, nitric oxide (NO) production, and levels of antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, histopathological studies were performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Z. officinale treatment on toxoplasmosis-induced pathological alterations in liver, brain, and spleen. RESULTS Treatment with Z. officinale ethanolic extract extended the survival of mice till 9th dpi compared to 7th dpi in infected untreated mice. Higher percentage of mice survived in Z. officinale-treated group compared to spiramycin-treatment group at different time points. Liver parasite loads were significantly lower in Z. officinale extract-treated mice and spiramycin-treated mice compared to infected untreated mice which correlated with significantly lower levels of serum liver enzymes (ALT, AST) and nitric oxide (NO), as well as significantly higher catalase (CAT) antioxidant enzyme activity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination of tachyzoites from the peritoneal fluid revealed marked damage in tachyzoites from Z. officinale-treated group compared to that from infected untreated mice. Moreover, treatment with Z. officinale ethanolic extract alleviated infection-induced pathological alterations and restored normal tissue morphology of liver, brain, and spleen. CONCLUSION Our results demonstrated that Z. officinale treatment reduced parasite burden and reversed histopathological and biochemical alterations in acute murine toxoplasmosis. These findings support the potential utility of Z. officinale as a future effective natural therapeutic for toxoplasmosis. Further studies are needed to determine the effective active ingredient in Z. officinale extract that can be further optimized for treatment of toxoplasmosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmaa M El-Kady
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt.
| | - Hayam Elshazly
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences-Scientific Departments, Qassim University, Bu-raidah, Qassim, 52571, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muslimah N Alsulami
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Haleema H Albohiri
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eman Abdullah Alshehri
- Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11362, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mashael S Alfaifi
- Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura 21 University, Mecca, 21961, Saudi Arabia
| | - Khalil Mohamed
- Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura 21 University, Mecca, 21961, Saudi Arabia
| | - Majed H Wakid
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
- Special Infectious Agents unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Hattan S Gattan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Special Infectious Agents unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sarah A Altwaim
- Special Infectious Agents unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Wafa Abdullah I Al-Megrin
- Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ghaliah H Almalki
- Department of Biology, College of Science, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia
| | - Iman A M Abdel-Rahman
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt
| | - Hatem A Elshabrawy
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Sam Houston State University, Conroe, TX, 77304, USA.
| | - Salwa Younis
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21526, Egypt
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A Systematic Review on Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic Activity of Eurycoma longifolia Jack (Tongkat Ali). BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 2022:4999797. [PMID: 35845951 PMCID: PMC9279065 DOI: 10.1155/2022/4999797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Eurycoma longifolia or Tongkat Ali (family: Simaroubaceae) has the potential to be utilised as an antimicrobial and antiparasitic agent that correlated with its traditional use to treat jaundice, malaria, antiseptic agent, and many more. This review is aimed at systematically sieving through articles regarding the antimicrobial and antiparasitic activity of E. longifolia. A total of 123 studies have been found using suitable keywords and manually searched from previous studies through the four databases. After title screening and abstract examination, 56 articles were excluded due to duplication and not meeting the acceptance criteria. 67 articles were assessed on full-text accessibility, 31 studies remained, and this number decreased to 20 articles after a careful examination of the full-text articles. Among the 20 articles selected, 17 articles proved the potential of E. longifolia as an antimicrobial and antiparasitic agent efficiently. 2 selected articles showed partial positive results, which specified specific microorganisms tested. In contrast, another 1 article gave a completely negative result. As for the conclusion, current studies highlighted by this review may shed light on the future direction of studies concerning E. longifolia as a novel antimicrobial and antiparasitic agent. However, more research should be done in the future focusing on the efficiency of E. longifolia for veterinary medicine utilisation.
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Synthesis, Characterization and Nanoformulation of Novel Sulfonamide-1,2,3-triazole Molecular Conjugates as Potent Antiparasitic Agents. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084241. [PMID: 35457059 PMCID: PMC9025934 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a highly prevalent parasite that has no gold standard treatment due to the poor action or the numerous side effects. Focused sulfonamide-1,2,3-triazole hybrids 3a–c were wisely designed and synthesized via copper catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition approach between prop-2-yn-1-alcohol 1 and sulfa drug azides 2a–c. The newly synthesized click products were fully characterized using different spectroscopic experiments and were loaded onto chitosan nanoparticles to form novel nanoformulations for further anti-Toxoplasma investigation. The current study proved the anti-Toxoplasma effectiveness of all examined compounds in experimentally infected mice. Relative to sulfadiazine, the synthesized sulfonamide-1,2,3-triazole (3c) nanoformulae demonstrated the most promising result for toxoplasmosis treatment as it resulted in 100% survival, 100% parasite reduction along with the remarkable histopathological improvement in all the studied organs.
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Anti- Toxoplasma gondii Effects of a Novel Spider Peptide XYP1 In Vitro and In Vivo. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9080934. [PMID: 34440138 PMCID: PMC8392294 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9080934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis, caused by an obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is one of the most prevalent zoonoses worldwide. Treatments for this disease by traditional drugs have shown numerous side effects, thus effective alternative anti-Toxoplasma strategies or drugs are urgently needed. In this study, a novel spider peptide, XYP1, was identified from the cDNA library of the venom gland of the spider Lycosa coelestis. Our results showed that XYP1 has potent anti-Toxoplasma activity in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, treatment with XYP1 significantly inhibited the viability, invasion and proliferation of tachyzoites with low cytotoxicity (IC50 = 38.79 μΜ) on human host cells, and increased the survival rate of mice acutely infected with T. gondii. Next, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and RNA sequencing were employed to further explore the functional mechanism of XYP1, and the results indicated that XYP1 causes membrane perforation, swelling and disruption of tachyzoites, which could be closely associated with differential expression of several membrane-associated proteins including HSP29. In conclusion, XYP1 may be a promising new drug candidate for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.
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El-Zawawy LA, El-Said D, Mossallam SF, Ramadan HS, Younis SS. Preventive prospective of triclosan and triclosan-liposomal nanoparticles against experimental infection with a cystogenic ME49 strain of Toxoplasma gondii. Acta Trop 2015; 141:103-11. [PMID: 25305510 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2014] [Revised: 09/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The preventative effect of triclosan (TS) and TS liposomal nanoparticles was studied on the early establishment of chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). Swiss albino mice were orally infected with 10 cysts of avirulent ME49 strain of T. gondii, and 2 weeks later they were orally treated with dual daily doses of 200mg/kg and 120 mg/kg TS and TS liposomes for 30 days; respectively. Effect of TS and TS liposomes was parasitologically and ultrastructurally evaluated, versus infected non-treated control. Their safety was biochemically assessed. Parasitologically, both TS and TS liposomes induced significant reduction in mice mortality, brain parasite burden and infectivity of cysts obtained from the brains of treated mice. Ultrastructurally, scanning electron microscopy of cysts obtained from infected mice treated with either TS or TS liposomes showed surface irregularities, protrusions and depressions. Transmission electron microscopy revealed disintegration of the cyst wall and vacuolation of the bradyzoites with disintegration of plasma membranes of both cysts and bradyzoites whether treated with TS or TS liposomes. Biochemical study reflected the safety of the TS and TS liposomes. Therefore, TS proved an effective, promising and safe preventive drug against early establishment of chronic toxoplasmosis. Loading TS on liposomes marginally enhanced its efficacy against T. gondii cysts yet allowed its use in a lower dose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lobna A El-Zawawy
- Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt
| | - Doaa El-Said
- Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt
| | - Shereen F Mossallam
- Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.
| | - Heba S Ramadan
- Medical Bio-Physics Department, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Egypt
| | - Salwa S Younis
- Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt
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Oliveira CBS, Meurer YSR, Oliveira MG, Medeiros WMTQ, Silva FON, Brito ACF, Pontes DDL, Andrade-Neto VF. Comparative study on the antioxidant and anti-Toxoplasma activities of vanillin and its resorcinarene derivative. Molecules 2014; 19:5898-912. [PMID: 24810805 PMCID: PMC6271522 DOI: 10.3390/molecules19055898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2014] [Revised: 04/26/2014] [Accepted: 04/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A resorcinarene derivative of vanillin, resvan, was synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques. We measured the cytotoxicity (in vivo and in vitro), antioxidant and anti-Toxoplasma activities of vanillin and the resorcinarene compound. Here we show that vanillin has a dose-dependent behavior with IC50 of 645 µg/mL through an in vitro cytotoxicity assay. However, we could not observe any cytotoxic response at higher concentrations of resvan (IC50 > 2,000 µg/mL). The in vivo acute toxicity assays of vanillin and resvan exhibited a significant safety margin indicated by a lack of systemic and behavioral toxicity up to 300 mg/kg during the first 30 min, 24 h or 14 days after administration. The obtained derivative showed greater antioxidative activity (84.9%) when comparing to vanillin (19.4%) at 1,000 μg/mL. In addition, vanillin presents anti-Toxoplasma activity, while resvan does not show that feature. Our findings suggest that this particular derivative has an efficient antioxidant activity and a negligible cytotoxic effect, making it a potential target for further biological investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio B S Oliveira
- Laboratory of Malaria and Toxoplasmosis Biology/LABMAT, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Bioscience Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Ywlliane S R Meurer
- Memory Studies Laboratory, Physiology Department, Bioscience Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Marianne G Oliveira
- Laboratory of Malaria and Toxoplasmosis Biology/LABMAT, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Bioscience Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Wendy M T Q Medeiros
- Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry and Polymers, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Francisco O N Silva
- Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry and Polymers, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Ana C F Brito
- Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry and Polymers, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Daniel de L Pontes
- Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry and Polymers, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil
| | - Valter F Andrade-Neto
- Laboratory of Malaria and Toxoplasmosis Biology/LABMAT, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Bioscience Center, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Av. Salgado Filho, s/n, Lagoa Nova, Natal/RN, CEP 59000-000, Brazil.
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